Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to Israel early on Sunday after a weekend in London with his wife.
The prime minister's arrival comes hours after his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant made a public appeal to suspend his coalition's legislation to change Israel's judicial system which has brought Israelis out to the streets in mass demonstrations, for the past 12 weeks.
Gallant on Saturday said that the bitter dispute over the measures poses a danger to national security.
"The deepening split is seeping into the military and security agencies - this is a clear, immediate and real danger to Israel's security. I will not facilitate this," Gallant said in a brief televised statement.
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Reservists clash with police during mass demonstration on Saturday
(Photo: Tal Shahar)
According to some reports, his request to convene the security cabinet in order to brief ministers on the dangers was refused by the prime minister.
Netanyahu has yet to react to Gallant but his outspoken son Yair tweeted that the defense minister destroyed Israeli democracy after allowing a few hundred IDF reservists to overturn the decision of 2.6 million voters.
The young Netanyahu also retweeted other strong-worded reactions from within the ruling Likud party that branded the minister a disgrace, and other members of Netanyahu's coalition called for his immediate dismissal.
The defense minister had intended to make his public statement on Thursday but was convinced not to after a meeting with the prime minister.
Netanyahu then addressed the nation himself and made clear he had no intention of slowing down his legislative push, ignoring the warnings of his own defense minister, the public outcry from inside the country, the growing number of reservists in the military and security services, and international condemnation,
A small number of Likud members did, however, back Gallant on Saturday raising hopes in some, that should an opposition inside the Likud grow, the coalition may not have the majority needed to pass the bills in the Knesset votes this week.
Meanwhile, the Knesset Constitution, Law, Justice Committee in the Knesset convened to continue the coalition's legislative push in heated debates as the chairman, Simcha Rothman refused to allow opposition members to make statements and rushed votes through despite calls that he was a bully and a fascist.
The coming week is seen as a pivotal moment with final votes scheduled on the all-important changes the coalition seeks to make to the way judges and Supreme Court Justices are elected.